Compute the position of Asteroid 7 Iris for any date and time between 1 January 1900
and 31 December 2099
and visualize the results on an interactive sky map.
7 Iris is a large main-belt asteroid located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
It orbits the Sun once every 3.68 Earth years.
It was discovered on August 13, 1847 by John Russell Hind and is named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow.
Iris has a diameter of approximately 200 kilometers and is irregularly shaped, with a rotation period of about 7.1 hours.
In 2007, the European Space Agency launched the Rosetta spacecraft, which passed within 5 million kilometers of Iris and
obtained detailed measurements of its surface. These observations,
together with ground-based radar observations, revealed that Iris has a highly elongated shape and provided important insights into its rotational dynamics. The study of Iris and its family of asteroids has provided important insights into the formation and evolution of the asteroid belt and the early solar system.
Asteroid 7 Iris is in the constellation of
Pisces,
at a distance of 379,803,923.0 kilometers from Earth.
The current Right Ascension is
00h 18m 47s
and the Declination is +05° 36’ 37”
(apparent coordinates).
The magnitude of Asteroid 7 Iris is 9.97 (data provided by JPL Horizons).
Sky map showing Asteroid 7 Iris in Pisces on February, 17 2025.
Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart
High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 7 Iris is right now.
Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 7 Iris.
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins.
View in deep sky object tracker
Also check out Where is Asteroid 7 Iris?,
a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 7 Iris in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple
customized Quick Access page,
so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 7 Iris from Earth is currently 379,803,923.0 kilometers,
equivalent to 2.5388324127Astronomical Units.
Light takes
21m 6.890s to travel from Asteroid 7 Iris and arrive to us.
379,803,923.0
2.5388324127
21m 6.890s
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 7 Iris from Earth as a function of time.
In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with
an interval of 1 day.
Chart of the distance of Asteroid 7 Iris from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth.
The value of the distance of 7 Iris from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the
Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach
Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099,
the closest approach of
Asteroid 7 Iris to Earth happens on
Sat Nov 8 1947 at a distance of
0.846460 Astronomical Units, or
126,628,540 kilometers:
Sat Nov 8 1947
126,628,540
0.846460
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed
with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve
(visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 7 Iris,
according to the most recent ephemerides data.
Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies
for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies
between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Chart of the magnitude of Asteroid 7 Iris as a function of time
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 7 Iris.
Source: JPL Small-Body Database
Physical Parameter
Value
Relative to Earth
Diameter
199.83 km
0.0157
Sideral Rotation
7.1390 hours
0.2983
Absolute Magnitude
5.51
Geometric Albedo
0.2766
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 7 Iris computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval.
Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
Compute the position of Asteroid 7 Iris for any date and time between 1 January 1900
and 31 December 2099
and display the results on an interactive star map.
Orbital elements. Detailed information
about Asteroid 7 Iris orbital parameters.
Interactive orbit visualization. 3d
visualization showing the orbit of Asteroid 7 Iris with respect to the major Solar System objects.
Physical data. Detailed
information about physical properties of Asteroid 7 Iris, such as mass and geometric properties.
15 days ephemerides. Table
showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Asteroid 7 Iris for the past and next 7 days.
Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Asteroid 7 Iris in the sky from your location.
Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Asteroid 7 Iris with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.